Terminal apparatus and analysis system

ABSTRACT

An editor edits an arrangement of a plurality of pictograms in a display area, the pictograms corresponding to functions to be executed. A generator generates hysteresis information indicating a hysteresis of the edit. A first transmitter transmits display area information indicating the display area to other terminal apparatus. A receiver receives hysteresis information indicating a hysteresis of processing relating to the display area indicated by the display area information, the processing being performed in the other terminal apparatus. A display unit correlates and display the hysteresis information generated by the generator and the hysteresis information received by the receiver. A second transmitter transmits the hysteresis information generated by the generator and the hysteresis information received by the receiver to a terminal apparatus which has transmitted the display area information to the own apparatus.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119from Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-170525 filed on Aug. 25, 2014and Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-185109 filed on Sep. 11, 2014.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a terminal apparatus and an analysissystem.

SUMMARY

According to a first aspect of illustrative embodiments of the presentinvention, there is provided a terminal apparatus comprising: an editorconfigured to edit a display area comprising a plurality of imagescorresponding to functions to be executed; a generator configured togenerate hysteresis information indicating a hysteresis of processingrelating to the display area; a first transmitter configured to transmitdisplay area information indicating the display area to other terminalapparatus; and a receiver configured to receive hysteresis informationindicating a hysteresis of processing relating to the display areaindicated by the display area information, the processing beingperformed in the other terminal apparatus.

According to a second aspect of the illustrative embodiments of thepresent invention, there is provided a communication system comprising:a first terminal apparatus comprising: an editor configured to edit adisplay area comprising a plurality of images corresponding to functionsto be executed; a first generator configured to generate hysteresisinformation indicating a hysteresis of processing relating to thedisplay area; a first transmitter configured to transmit display areainformation indicating the display area to other terminal apparatus; anda first receiver configured to receive hysteresis information indicatinga hysteresis of processing relating to the display area indicated by thedisplay area information, the processing being performed in the otherterminal apparatus: and a second terminal apparatus comprising: a secondreceiver configured to receive the display area information transmittedby the first transmitter; a second generator configured to generatehysteresis information indicating a hysteresis of processing relating tothe display area information received by the second receiver; and asecond transmitter configured to transmit the hysteresis informationgenerated by the second generator to the first terminal apparatus.

According to a third aspect of the illustrative embodiments of thepresent invention, there is provided a non-transitory computer readablemedium storing a program for enabling a computer to function as: aneditor configured to edit a display area comprising a plurality ofimages corresponding to functions to be executed; a generator configuredto generate hysteresis information indicating a hysteresis of processingrelating to the display area; a first transmitter configured to transmitdisplay area information indicating the display area to other terminalapparatus; and a receiver configured to receive hysteresis informationindicating a hysteresis of processing relating to the display areaindicated by the display area information, the processing beingperformed in the other terminal apparatus.

According to a fourth aspect of the illustrative embodiments of thepresent invention, there is provided an analysis system comprising: aterminal apparatus comprising: a display controller configured todisplay a plurality of images corresponding to functions to be executedon a display unit; a recorder configured to record an operationhysteresis, which is a hysteresis of a user's operation performed forthe images; and a transmitter configured to transmit information, whichindicates that the operation hysteresis recorded by the recorder isdifferent from a predetermined operation; and an analysis apparatuscomprising: a receiver configured to receive the information transmittedby the transmitter, and an output unit configured to output information,which indicates that the user's operation is different from thepredetermined operation, on the basis of the information received by thereceiver.

According to a fifth aspect of the illustrative embodiments of thepresent invention, there is provided a terminal apparatus comprising: adisplay controller configured to display a plurality of imagescorresponding to functions to be executed on a display unit; a recorderconfigured to record an operation hysteresis, which is a hysteresis of auser's operation performed for the images; and a transmitter configuredto transmit information, which indicates that the operation hysteresisrecorded by the recorder is different from a predetermined operation.

According to a sixth aspect of the illustrative embodiments of thepresent invention, there is provided a non-transitory computer readablemedium storing a program for enabling a computer to function as: adisplay controller configured to display a plurality of imagescorresponding to functions to be executed on a display unit; a recorderconfigured to record an operation hysteresis, which is a hysteresis of auser's operation performed for the images; and a transmitter configuredto transmit information, which indicates that an operation hysteresisrecorded by the recorder is different from a predetermined operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described indetailed based on the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows apparatuses relating to a communication system 1 accordingto a first illustrative embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a terminalapparatus 10;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a GUI configured to be displayed on theterminal apparatus 10;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a GUI configured to be displayed on theterminal apparatus 10;

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the terminal apparatus 10;

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of an operationaccording to the first illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing the example of the operationaccording to the first illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 8 shows an example of first data and second data;

FIG. 9 shows a correlation between the first data and the second data;

FIG. 10 shows a correlation between the first data and the second data;

FIG. 11 shows a correlation between the first data and the second data;

FIG. 12 shows a correlation between the first data and the second data;

FIG. 13 shows a correlation between the first data and the second data;

FIG. 14 shows a correlation between the first data and the second data;

FIG. 15 shows a correlation between the first data and the second data;

FIG. 16 shows a correlation between the first data and the second data;

FIG. 17 shows a correlation between the first data and the second datain a modified embodiment;

FIG. 18 shows a correlation of the first data in a modified embodiment;

FIG. 19 shows a correlation between the first data and the second data;

FIG. 20 shows apparatuses relating to a communication system 1 accordingto a second illustrative embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of aterminal apparatus 10;

FIG. 22 illustrates an example of a GUI configured to be displayed onthe terminal apparatus 10;

FIG. 23 illustrates an example of a GUI configured to be displayed onthe terminal apparatus 10;

FIG. 24 illustrates an example of a GUI configured to be displayed onthe terminal apparatus 10;

FIG. 25 is a functional block diagram of the terminal apparatus 10;

FIG. 26 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a serverapparatus 20;

FIG. 27 is a functional block diagram of the server apparatus 20;

FIG. 28 is a sequence diagram showing an example of an operationaccording to the second illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 29 shows an example of an operation hysteresis:

FIG. 30 shows an example of operation sequence data;

FIG. 31 shows an example of data obtained by analysis of the serverapparatus 20:

FIG. 32 shows an example of data obtained by analysis of the serverapparatus 20:

FIG. 33 illustrates an example of a GUI configured to be displayed onthe terminal apparatus 10 according to a modified embodiment;

FIG. 34 illustrates an example of a GUI configured to be displayed onthe terminal apparatus 10 according to a modified embodiment.

FIG. 35 illustrates an example of an analysis result to be displayed onthe terminal apparatus 10 according to a modified embodiment;

FIG. 36 illustrates an example of a GUI configured to be displayed onthe terminal apparatus 10 according to a modified embodiment; and

FIG. 37 illustrates an example of an analysis result to be displayed onthe terminal apparatus 10 according to a modified embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION First Illustrative Embodiment

FIG. 1 shows apparatuses relating to a communication system 1 accordingto a first illustrative embodiment of the present invention. Acommunication line 2 is a LAN (Local Area Network) through which datacommunication is performed, and a plurality of computer apparatuses isconnected thereto. The communication line 2 is not limited to the LAN,and may include a communication line through which the computerapparatus performs communication, such as WAN, Internet and telephoneline. Terminal apparatuses 10A to 10E are apparatuses configured toperform data communication, and are so-called PCs in this firstillustrative embodiment. The terminal apparatuses 10A to 10E areconnected to the communication line 2 and are configured to perform datacommunication through the communication line 2. Since the terminalapparatuses 10A to 10E have the same hardware configuration, they aresimply referred to as ‘terminal apparatus 10’ when it is not necessaryto distinguish the same.

(Configuration of Terminal Apparatus 10)

FIG. 2 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the terminalapparatus 10. A display unit 103 has a display device. The display unit103 is configured to display a variety of screens for operating theterminal apparatus 10, for example. An operation unit 104 has an inputdevice for operating the terminal apparatus 10, such as a keyboard and amouse. A communication unit 105 functions as a communication interfacefor performing data communication.

A storage unit 102 has a device (for example, a hard disk drive) forpermanently storing therein data, and is configured to store therein aprogram of an operating system, an application program, a document fileindicating a document, and the like. In this first illustrativeembodiment, the storage unit 102 is configured to store therein anapplication program (hereinafter, referred to as document managementapplication) for implementing functions of displaying, editing andmanaging a document file, and the like.

A control unit 101 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a RAM (RandomAccess Memory) and is configured to execute the program of the operatingsystem and the application program. When the CPU executes the documentmanagement application, the functions of displaying, editing andmanaging a document file, and the like are implemented.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a GUI (Graphical User Interface) thatis displayed on the display unit 103 as the document managementapplication is executed. The GUI has, in a window W, a first toolbar B1on which button icons corresponding to predetermined functions arearranged, a second toolbar B2 on which an editing of adding, deletingand arranging a button icon corresponding to a function (which is anexample of an image corresponding to a function) can be performed by auser's operation, a menu bar B3, a first display area A1 configured todisplay a folder tree and a second display area A2 configured to displaya document. The second toolbar B2 is an example of a display area of animage corresponding to a function. In the meantime, an editing ofadding, deleting and arranging a button icon corresponding to a functioncan be performed on the first toolbar B. Also, the GUI of the documentmanagement application may have a plurality of second toolbars B2 anddisplay each of the second toolbars B2 in a tap bar form and may beconfigured so that an arrangement order of taps can be edited.

When a user selects a folder in the first display area A1, files in thefolder are displayed in an icon form in the second display area A2, asshown in FIG. 3. When the user performs an operation of selecting anicon displayed in the second display area A2 to open a file, a contentof the file is displayed as shown in FIG. 4.

The second toolbar B2 is an example of a distinguishing toolbar of thepresent invention. When the user operates the operation unit 104, thecontrol unit 101 adds, deletes or rearranges a button on the secondtoolbar B2. When the user operates a button displayed on the secondtoolbar B2, the control unit 101 executes a function corresponding tothe operated button.

For example, when performing a series of operations of converting animage file of a document read by a scanner into a PDF (Portable DocumentFormat), performing character recognition to generate text data,rearranging pages, editing the text data and saving the edited documentfile, if a button ‘conversion to PDF’ corresponding to a function ofconverting an image file to a PDF, a button ‘character recognition’corresponding to a function of character recognition, a button ‘pagerearrangement’ corresponding to a function of rearranging a page, abutton ‘editing’ corresponding to a function of editing text data and abutton ‘save’ corresponding to a function of saving a file are arrangedfrom left in conformity of the operation sequence, as shown in FIG. 3,it is possible to execute the series of operations in order.

Also, the second toolbar B2 is configured to be exported and imported,in response to a user's operation. When the user performs an operationof exporting the second toolbar B2, the control unit 101 outputs toolbardata indicating the second toolbar B2. Also, when the user performs anoperation of importing toolbar data, the control unit 101 arranges avariety of buttons in an area of the second toolbar B2, in response to acontent of the toolbar data.

By transmitting the output toolbar data to the other terminal apparatus10 and importing the same at the other apparatus 10, the same secondtoolbar B2 as the terminal apparatus 10 having transmitted the toolbardata is displayed on the other terminal apparatus 10, too. For example,when a user (hereinafter, referred to as user A) of the terminalapparatus 10A asks a user (hereinafter, referred to as user B) of theterminal apparatus 10B to work as the content of the second toolbar B2shown in FIG. 3, the user A exports the second toolbar B2 and transmitsthe toolbar data to the terminal apparatus 10B. When the user B importsthe transmitted toolbar data at the terminal apparatus 10B, the user Bcan perform a series of operations in order with the second toolbar B2set by the user A. In the meantime, since the toolbar data can betransmitted to the terminal apparatus 10 of another user, the toolbardata transmitted from the terminal apparatus 10A can be transmitted fromthe terminal apparatus 10B to the terminal apparatus 10C or terminalapparatus 10D and can be further transmitted from the terminal apparatus10D to the terminal apparatus 10E, for example.

Since the button can be added, deleted or rearranged on the secondtoolbar B2 by the user's operation, the second toolbar B2 may be editedat the terminal apparatus 10 having acquired the toolbar data and thenthe toolbar data of the edited content may be transmitted to anotherterminal apparatus 10. In this first illustrative embodiment, thedocument management application has a function of obtaining atransmission destination of the toolbar data transmitted from oneterminal apparatus 10 and an editing hysteresis of the transmittedtoolbar data.

(Functional Configuration of Terminal Apparatus 10)

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing a function of obtaining atransmission destination of toolbar data and an editing hysteresis oftoolbar data of the functions that are implemented as the documentmanagement application is executed.

An output unit 201 is to output the toolbar data of the second toolbarB2. The second toolbar B2 is an example of a display area including abutton (an example of an image corresponding to a function)corresponding to a function to be executed, and the toolbar data is anexample of display area information indicating the second toolbar B2. Inother words, the output unit 201 is to output the display areainformation indicating a display area including an image correspondingto a function to be executed.

An editor 202 is to add, delete and rearrange the button (imagecorresponding to a function) of the second toolbar B2, in response to auser's operation performed on the operation unit 104.

A generator 203 is to generate hysteresis information indicating ahysteresis of processing relating to the second toolbar B2. Thehysteresis information includes management data, first data, second dataand the like, which will be described later. The generator 203 is anexample of the generator and second generator of the present invention.

A first transmitter 204 is to control the communication unit 105 totransmit the toolbar data (display area information) to other terminalapparatus 10.

A first receiver 205 is to control the communication unit 105 to receivethe first data and second data (hysteresis information) generated at thetransmission destination of the toolbar data (display area information).The first receiver 205 is an example of the receiver of the presentinvention.

A second receiver 206 is to receive the toolbar data transmitted fromother terminal apparatus.

A combiner 207 is to combine (correlate) the first data and second data(hysteresis information) generated by the first transmitter 204 with thefirst data and second data (hysteresis information) received by thefirst receiver 205.

A second transmitter 208 is to transmit the hysteresis information tothe terminal apparatus 10, which is an upper apparatus havingtransmitted the toolbar data to the own apparatus. The secondtransmitter 208 is an example of the third transmitter of the presentinvention.

A display 209 is to display the data combined and correlated by thecombiner 207. The display 20′) controls the display unit 103 to displaythe data combined by the combiner 207.

(Example of Operation of First Illustrative Embodiment)

Subsequently, an example of an operation of this first illustrativeembodiment is described with reference to sequence diagrams of FIGS. 6and 7. In the example of the operation, a case is exemplified in whichthe second toolbar B2 of FIG. 3 set at the terminal apparatus 10A isimported to the terminal apparatus 10B, the second toolbar B2 edited atthe terminal apparatus 10B is imported to the terminal apparatus 10C andthe terminal apparatus 10D, and the second toolbar B2 edited at theterminal apparatus 10D is further imported to the terminal apparatus10E. In below descriptions, when it is necessary to distinguish thehardware configurations and functional configurations of the respectiveterminal apparatuses 10, the respective units of the terminal apparatus10A are denoted with the corresponding reference numerals having ‘A’attached to an end thereof, the respective units of the terminalapparatus 10B are denoted with the corresponding reference numeralshaving ‘B’ attached to an end thereof, the respective units of theterminal apparatus 10C are denoted with the corresponding referencenumerals having ‘C’ attached to an end thereof, the respective units ofthe terminal apparatus 10D are denoted with the corresponding referencenumerals having ‘D’ attached to an end thereof and the respective unitsof the terminal apparatus 10E are denoted with the correspondingreference numerals having ‘E’ attached to an end thereof, forconvenience of explanations.

When the user A asks the user B to perform a series of operations ofconversion of an image file into a PDF, character recognition, pagerearrangement, editing of text data, save of a document file, and thelike, the user A performs an operation of exporting the second toolbarB2 of FIG. 3 on the operation unit 104A at the terminal apparatus 10A inwhich the document management application is being executed. The controlunit 101A outputs toolbar data, in response to the performed operation(step S1). When exporting the newly prepared second toolbar B2, thecontrol unit 101A adds an identifier for identifying the second toolbarB2 and an identifier (for example, IP address) of the terminal apparatus10A having output the toolbar data, to the toolbar data to be outputhere.

Also, when exporting the newly prepared second toolbar B2, the controlunit 101A generates management data AD1 including an identifier foridentifying the second toolbar B2 and date and time of the export (stepS2). The management data AD1 is an example of the hysteresis informationrelating to the second toolbar B2.

When the user A performs an operation of transmitting the output toolbardata to the terminal apparatus 10B, the control unit 101A controls thecommunication unit 105A to transmit the toolbar data to the terminalapparatus 10B (step S3).

The communication unit 105B of the terminal apparatus 10B receives thetransmitted toolbar data. When the user B performs an operation ofimporting the toolbar data on the operation unit 104B at the terminalapparatus 10B in which the document management application is beingexecuted, the control unit 101B executes processing of importing thetoolbar data (step S4). When the control unit 101B executes processingof importing the toolbar data, a window having the second toolbar B2 ofFIG. 3 is displayed on the display unit 103B.

When the toolbar data is imported, the control unit 101B generates firstdata including date and time of the import and second data includinginformation relating to the imported second toolbar B2 (step S5). Thefirst data and the second data are examples of the hysteresisinformation relating to the second toolbar B2. First data BD1 and seconddata BD21 shown in FIG. 8 are examples of the first data and second datagenerated by the control unit 101B upon the import of the toolbar data.

The first data BD1 includes the identifier of the second toolbar B2added to the imported toolbar data, an IP address of the terminalapparatus 10B to which the toolbar data is imported, and date and timeat which the toolbar data is imported to the terminal apparatus 10B.

The second data BD21 includes the identifier of the second toolbar B2added to the imported toolbar data, editing content of the secondtoolbar B2, a transmission destination of the toolbar data of the editedsecond toolbar B2, date and time of import at the transmissiondestination of the toolbar data of the edited second toolbar B2, and thelike. Since the second toolbar B2 has not been edited yet at theterminal apparatus 10B at a point of time at which the toolbar data wasimported to the terminal apparatus 10B, an item of the editing contentin the second data BD21 is set as ‘N/A’. Also, since the second toolbarB2 has not been transmitted yet from the terminal apparatus 10B to theother terminal apparatus 10 at a point of time at which the toolbar datawas imported to the terminal apparatus 10B, the transmission destinationin the second data BD21 is set as ‘N/A’. Also, since the toolbar datahas not been transmitted yet from the terminal apparatus 10B to theother terminal apparatus 10 at a point of time at which the toolbar datawas imported to the terminal apparatus 10B, the date and time of importat the transmission destination in the second data BD21 is set as ‘N/A’.

The control unit 101B controls the communication unit 105B to transmit aset of the generated first data BD1 and second data BD21 to the terminalapparatus 10A, which is a transmission source of the imported toolbardata (step S6). The communication unit 105A receives the transmitted setof the first data BD1 and second data BD21. The control unit 101A storesthe received set of the first data BD1 and second data BD21 in thestorage unit 102A (step S7).

The control unit 101A having acquired the first data BD1 and second dataBD21 performs correlation of the hysteresis information relating to thesecond toolbar B2 (step S8). Here, the control unit 101A correlates themanagement data AD1 having the same identifier as the toolbar identifierof the received first data BD1 with the received set of the first dataBD1 and second data BD21, as shown in FIG. 9.

The first data BD1 includes the date and time at which the toolbar datatransmitted from the terminal apparatus 10A is imported at the terminalapparatus 10B. When the user A performs an operation of displaying thecorrelated data on the operation unit 104A, the user A can know the dateand time at which the toolbar data is imported at the terminal apparatus10B, through the displayed data.

Then, for example, when the user B performs an operation of deleting thebutton ‘page rearrangement’ of the second toolbar B2 displayed by theimport on the operation unit 104B, the control unit 101B deletes thebutton ‘page rearrangement’ from the second toolbar B2 (step S9). Also,when the user B performs an operation of exporting the edited secondtoolbar B2 on the operation unit 104B, the control unit 101B outputs thetoolbar data of the edited second toolbar B2 (step S10).

The identifier of the second toolbar B2 and the identifier of theterminal apparatus 10A, which have been added by the terminal apparatus10A, are added to the toolbar data imported to the terminal apparatus10B. However, the control unit 101B further adds an identifier (forexample, IP address) of the terminal apparatus 10B having output thetoolbar data to the toolbar data to be edited and output here.

When the user B performs an operation of transmitting the output toolbardata to the terminal apparatus 10C, the control unit 101B controls thecommunication unit 105B to transmit the toolbar data to the terminalapparatus 10C (step S11).

When the output toolbar data is transmitted, the control unit 101Bgenerates second data BD22 including the information relating to thesecond toolbar B2 (step S12). At this time, since the button has beendeleted from a point of time at which the toolbar data was imported, theitem of the editing content in the second data BD22 is set as ‘deletionof rearrangement button of page’. Also, since the toolbar data has beentransmitted to the terminal apparatus 10C, the transmission destinationin the second data BD22 is an IP address of the terminal apparatus 10C.The control unit 101B correlates the generated second data BD22 with thefirst data BD1.

The communication unit 105C of the terminal apparatus 10C receives thetransmitted toolbar data. When a user C performs an operation ofimporting the toolbar data on the operation unit 104C at the terminalapparatus 10C in which the document management application is beingexecuted, the control unit 101C executes processing of importing thetoolbar data (step S13). When the control unit 101C executes processingof importing the toolbar data, a window having the second toolbar B2,from which the button ‘page rearrangement’ has been deleted, isdisplayed on the display unit 103C.

When the toolbar data is imported, the control unit 101C generates firstdata and second data (step S14). First data CD1 and second data CD21shown in FIG. 8 are examples of the first data and second data generatedby the control unit 101C upon the import of the toolbar data.

The first data CD1 includes the identifier of the second toolbar B2added to the imported toolbar data, an IP address of the terminalapparatus 10C, and date and time at which the toolbar data is importedto the terminal apparatus 10C.

The second data CD21 includes the identifier of the second toolbar B2added to the imported toolbar data, editing content of the secondtoolbar B2, a transmission destination of the toolbar data of the editedsecond toolbar, date and time of import at the transmission destinationof the toolbar data of the edited second toolbar, and the like. Sincethe second toolbar B2 has not been edited yet at the terminal apparatus10C at a point of time at which the toolbar data was imported to theterminal apparatus 10C, an item of the editing content in the seconddata CD21 is set as ‘N/A’. Also, since the second toolbar B12 has notbeen transmitted yet from the terminal apparatus 10C to the otherterminal apparatus 10 at a point of time at which the toolbar data wasimported to the terminal apparatus 10C, the transmission destination inthe second data CD21 is set as ‘N/A’. Also, since the toolbar data hasnot been transmitted yet from the terminal apparatus 10C to the otherterminal apparatus 10 at a point of time at which the toolbar data wasimported to the terminal apparatus 10C, the date and time of import inthe second data CD21 is set as ‘N/A’.

The control unit 101C controls the communication unit 105C to transmit aset of the generated first data CD1 and second data CD21 to the terminalapparatus 10B, which is a transmission source of the imported toolbardata (step S15). The communication unit 105B receives the transmittedset of the first data CD1 and second data CD21. The control unit 101Cstores the received set of the first data CD1 and second data CD21 inthe storage unit 102B (step S16).

When the set of the first data CD1 and second data CD21 is acquired fromthe terminal apparatus 10C, which is a transmission destination of thetoolbar data, the control unit 101B involves the date and time includedin the first data CD1 into the second data BD22 including the IP addressof the terminal apparatus 10C, as the date and time of import at thetransmission destination, as shown in FIG. 8.

Then, the control unit 101B performs correlation of data relating to thesecond toolbar B2 (step S17). The control unit 101B searches the seconddata including the same IP address as the IP address of the terminalapparatus 10C included in the acquired first data CD1. Here, since thesecond data BD22 includes the same IP address as the IP address of theterminal apparatus 10C included in the first data CD1, the set of thefirst data CD1 and second data CD21 is correlated with the second dataBD22. Here, the respective data is correlated as shown in FIG. 10.

When the correlation operation is over, the control unit 101 controlsthe communication unit 105B to transmit the correlated data to theterminal apparatus 10A, which is a transmission source of the importedtoolbar data (step S18). The communication unit 105A receives thecorrelated data. The control unit 101A specifies the uppermost firstdata BD1 in the received correlated data, and correlates the managementdata AD1 having the same identifier as the toolbar identifier includedin the first data BD1 with the received correlated data, as shown inFIG. 11 (step S19).

When the user A performs an operation of displaying the correlated data,the respective correlated data of FIG. 11 is displayed on the displayunit 103A. Here, since the first data CD1 is correlated with the seconddata BD22, the user A can know that the second toolbar B2 edited at theterminal apparatus 10B is imported at the terminal apparatus 10C.

Then, when the user B performs an operation of transmitting the toolbardata output in step S10 to the terminal apparatus 10D, the control unit101B controls the communication unit 105B to transmit the toolbar datato the terminal apparatus 10D (step S20).

When the toolbar data output in step S10 is transmitted, the controlunit 101B edits the second data BD22 (step S21). Here, since the toolbardata has been transmitted to the terminal apparatus 10D, an IP addressof the terminal apparatus 10D, which is a transmission destination, isadded to the second data BD22.

The communication unit 105D of the terminal apparatus 10D receives thetransmitted toolbar data. When a user (hereinafter, referred to as userD) of the terminal apparatus 10D performs an operation of importing thetoolbar data on the operation unit 104D at the terminal apparatus 10D inwhich the document management application is being executed, the controlunit 101D executes processing of importing the toolbar data (step S22).When the control unit 101D executes processing of importing the toolbardata, a window having the second toolbar B2, from which the button ‘pagerearrangement’ has been deleted, is displayed on the display unit 103D.

When the toolbar data is imported, the control unit 101D generates firstdata and second data (step S28). First data DD1 and the second data DD21shown in FIG. 8 are examples of the first data and second data generatedby the control unit 101D upon the import of the toolbar data.

The first data DD1 includes the identifier of the second toolbar B2added to the imported toolbar data, an IP address of the terminalapparatus 10D, and date and time at which the toolbar data is importedto the terminal apparatus 10D.

The second data DD21 includes the identifier of the second toolbar B2added to the imported toolbar data, editing content of the secondtoolbar B2, a transmission destination of the toolbar data of the editedsecond toolbar, date and time of import at the transmission destinationof the toolbar data of the edited second toolbar, and the like.

The control unit 101D controls the communication unit 105D to transmit aset of the generated first data DD1 and second data DD21 to the terminalapparatus 10B, which is a transmission source of the imported toolbardata (step S24). The communication unit 105B receives the transmittedset of the first data DD1 and second data DD21. The control unit 101Bstores the received set of the first data DD1 and second data DD21 inthe storage unit 102B (step S25).

When the set of the first data DD1 and second data DD21 is acquired fromthe terminal apparatus 10D, which is a transmission destination of thetoolbar data, the control unit 101B involves the date and time includedin the first data DD1 into the second data BD22 including the IP addressof the terminal apparatus 10D, as the date and time of import at thetransmission destination, as shown in FIG. 12.

Then, the control unit 101B performs correlation of data relating to thesecond toolbar B2 (step S26). The control unit 101B searches the seconddata including the same IP address as the IP address of the terminalapparatus 10D included in the acquired first data DD1. Here, since thesecond data BD22 includes the same IP address as the IP address of theterminal apparatus 10D included in the first data DD1, the set of thefirst data DD1 and second data DD21 is correlated with the second dataBD22. Here, the respective data is correlated as shown in FIG. 12.

When the correlation operation is over, the control unit 101B controlsthe communication unit 105B to transmit the correlated data to theterminal apparatus 10A, which is a transmission source of the importedtoolbar data (step S27). The communication unit 105A receives thecorrelated data. The control unit 101A specifies the uppermost firstdata BD1 in the received correlated data, and correlates the managementdata AD1 having the same identifier as the toolbar identifier includedin the first data BD1 with the received correlated data, as shown inFIG. 13 (step S28).

When the user A performs an operation of displaying the correlated data,the respective correlated data of FIG. 13 is displayed on the displayunit 103A. Here, since the first data CD1 is correlated with the seconddata BD22, the user A can know that the second toolbar B2 edited at theterminal apparatus 10B is imported to the terminal apparatus 10D, too.

Then, when the user D performs an operation of deleting the button“editing’ of the second toolbar B2 displayed by the import on theoperation unit 104D, the control unit 101D deletes the button ‘editing’from the second toolbar B2 (step S29). Also, when the user D performs anoperation of exporting the edited second toolbar B2 on the operationunit 104D, the control unit 101D outputs the toolbar data of the editedsecond toolbar B2 (step S30).

The identifier of the second toolbar B2 and the identifier of theterminal apparatus 10A, which have been added by the terminal apparatus10A, and the identifier of the terminal apparatus 10B are added to thetoolbar data imported to the terminal apparatus 10D. However, thecontrol unit 101D further adds an identifier (for example, IP address)of the terminal apparatus 10D having output the toolbar data, to thetoolbar data to be output here.

When the user D performs an operation of transmitting the output toolbardata to the terminal apparatus 10E, the control unit 101D controls thecommunication unit 105D to transmit the toolbar data to the terminalapparatus 10E (step S31).

When the output toolbar data is transmitted, the control unit 101Dgenerates second data DD22 including the information relating to thesecond toolbar B2 (step S32). At this time, since the button has beendeleted from a point of time at which the toolbar data was imported, theitem of the editing content in the second data DD22 is set as ‘deletionof editing button’. Also, since the toolbar data has been transmitted tothe terminal apparatus 10E, the transmission destination in the seconddata DD22 is an IP address of the terminal apparatus 10E. The controlunit 101D correlates the generated second data DD22 with the first dataDD1.

The communication unit 105E of the terminal apparatus 10E receives thetransmitted toolbar data. When a user (hereinafter, referred to as userE) of the terminal apparatus 10E performs an operation of importing thetoolbar data on the operation unit 104E at the terminal apparatus 10E inwhich the document management application is being executed, the controlunit 101E executes processing of importing the toolbar data (step S23).When the control unit 101E executes processing of importing the toolbardata, a window having the second toolbar B2, from which the button ‘pagerearrangement’ and the button ‘editing’ have been deleted, is displayedon the display unit 103E.

When the toolbar data is imported, the control unit 101E generates firstdata and second data (step S34). First data ED1 and second data ED21shown in FIG. 8 are examples of the first data and second data generatedby the control unit 101E upon the import of the toolbar data.

The first data ED1 includes the identifier of the second toolbar B2added to the imported toolbar data, an IP address of the terminalapparatus 10E, and date and time at which the toolbar data is importedto the terminal apparatus 10E.

The second data ED21 includes the identifier of the second toolbar B2added to the imported toolbar data, editing content of the secondtoolbar B2, a transmission destination of the toolbar data of the editedsecond toolbar B2, date and time of import at the transmissiondestination of the toolbar data of the edited second toolbar, and thelike. Since the second toolbar B2 has not been edited yet at theterminal apparatus 10E at a point of time at which the toolbar data wasimported to the terminal apparatus 10E, an item of the editing contentin the second data ED21 is set as ‘N/A’. Also, since the second toolbarB2 has not been transmitted yet from the terminal apparatus 10E to theother terminal apparatus 10 at a point of time at which the toolbar datawas imported to the terminal apparatus 10E, the transmission destinationin the second data ED21 is set as ‘N/A’. Also, since the toolbar datahas not been transmitted yet from the terminal apparatus 10E to theother terminal apparatus 10 at a point of time at which the toolbar datawas imported, the date and time of import in the second data ED21 is setas ‘N/A’.

The control unit 101E controls the communication unit 105E to transmit aset of the generated first data ED1 and second data ED21 to the terminalapparatus 10D, which is a transmission source of the imported toolbardata (step S35). The communication unit 105D receives the transmittedset of the first data ED1 and second data ED21. The control unit 101Dstores the received set of the first data ED1 and second data ED21 inthe storage unit 102D (step S36).

When the set of the first data ED1 and second data ED21 is acquired fromthe terminal apparatus 10E, which is a transmission destination of thetoolbar data, the control unit 101D involves the date and time includedin the first data ED1 into the second data DD22 including the IP addressof the terminal apparatus 10E, as the date and time of import at thetransmission destination, as shown in FIG. 8.

Then, the control unit 101D performs correlation of data relating to thesecond toolbar B2 (step S37). The control unit 101D searches the seconddata including the same IP address as the IP address of the terminalapparatus 10E included in the acquired first data ED1. Here, since thesecond data ED22 includes the same IP address as the JP address of theterminal apparatus 10E included in the first data ED1, the set of thefirst data ED1 and second data ED21 is correlated with the second dataDD22. Here, the respective data is correlated as shown in FIG. 14.

When the correlation operation is over, the control unit 101D controlsthe communication unit 105D to transmit the correlated data to theterminal apparatus 10B, which is a transmission source of the importedtoolbar data (step S38). The communication unit 105B receives thecorrelated data. The control unit 101B stores the acquired data in thestorage unit 102B (step S39).

Then, the control unit 101B correlates the data relating to the secondtoolbar B2 (step S40). The control unit 101B specifies the uppermostfirst data DD1 in the received correlated data, and also specifies thesecond data including the same IP address as the IP address of theterminal apparatus 10D included in the first data DD1. Here, since thesecond data BD22 includes the same IP address as the IP address of theterminal apparatus 10D included in the first data DD1, the control unit101B correlates the received correlated data with the second data BD22.Here, the respective data is correlated at the terminal apparatus 10B,as shown in FIG. 15.

When the correlation operation is over, the control unit 101B controlsthe communication unit 105B to transmit the correlated data to theterminal apparatus 10A, which is a transmission source of the importedtoolbar data (step S41). The communication unit 105A receives thecorrelated data. The control unit 101A specifies the uppermost firstdata BD1 in the received correlated data, and correlates the managementdata AD1 having the same identifier as the toolbar identifier includedin the first data BD1 with the received correlated data, as shown inFIG. 16 (step S42).

When the user A performs an operation of displaying the correlated data,the respective correlated data of FIG. 16 is displayed on the displayunit 103A. Here, since the first data ED1 is correlated with the seconddata DD22, the user A can know that the second toolbar B2 edited at theterminal apparatus 10D is imported at the terminal apparatus 10E.

Also, when the second toolbar B2 is transmitted to the plurality ofterminal apparatuses 10, the user A who is a distribution source of thesecond toolbar B2 can know situations of the second toolbar B2 at theplurality of other terminal apparatuses 10.

Also, the user A can know a situation of the second toolbar B2 at theterminal apparatus 10D or terminal apparatus 10E even when the user Adoes not know the IP address of the terminal apparatus 10D or terminalapparatus 10E to which the second toolbar B2 is secondarily distributed.Also, since the first data and the second data are transmitted from theterminal apparatus to the other terminal apparatus, it is possible toknow the hysteresis of the processing relating to the second toolbar B2,without via a server apparatus.

Modified Embodiments

Although the first illustrative embodiment of the present invention hasbeen described, the present invention is not limited to the aboveillustrative embodiment and can be implemented in diverse forms. Forexample, the present invention may be implemented by modifying the aboveillustrative embodiment as follows. In the meantime, the firstillustrative embodiment and the following modified embodiments may berespectively combined.

In the above first illustrative embodiment, when one terminal apparatus10 generates a plurality of second data, the plurality of generatedsecond data is displayed with being correlated with the first data.However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example,although the generated second data BD21 and second data BD22 aredisplayed with being correlated with the first data BD1 at the terminalapparatus 10B, the second data BD21 to which the first data of thetransmission destination is not correlated may not be displayed at theterminal apparatus 10A, as shown in FIG. 17. Also, although thegenerated second data DD21 and second data DD22 are displayed with beingcorrelated with the first data DD1 at the terminal apparatus 10D, thesecond data DD21 to which the first data of the transmission destinationis not correlated may not be displayed at the terminal apparatus 10A.

In the above first illustrative embodiment, when displaying thecorrelated first data and second data, if the editing content of thesecond data is ‘N/A’ in the set of the second data and the first datacorrelated to a downstream of the second data, the terminal apparatus 10having generated the correlated downstream data and the terminalapparatus 10 having generated the correlated upstream data use thesecond toolbar B2 having the same content. In this case, the terminalapparatus 10A may be configured to display the correlated upstream dataand downstream data by setting background colors in frames with the samecolor.

For example, when displaying the data correlated as shown in FIG. 17,the terminal apparatus 10A may display the first data BD1, the seconddata BD22, the first data CD1 and the second data CD21 by settingcharacter backgrounds in frames with blue and may display the first dataDD1, the second data DD22, the first data ED1 and the second data ED21by setting character backgrounds in frames with red.

In the above first illustrative embodiment, when the terminal apparatus10 displays the correlated data, it displays the first data and thesecond data. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 18, the first data may be correlated with eachother and displayed without displaying the second data.

Also, when displaying the correlated data at the terminal apparatus 10without displaying the second data, the display aspect is not limited toFIG. 18 and the other display aspects are also possible. For example, itis possible to know that the second toolbar B2 is edited twice and thatthere are three types of the second toolbar B2 of the terminal apparatus10A, the second toolbar B2 from which the button ‘page rearrangement’has been deleted and the second toolbar B2 from which the button ‘pagerearrangement’ and the button ‘editing’ have been deleted, from thecontents of the second data BD22 and second data DD22. The terminalapparatus 10A may be configured to analyze the correlated data and todisplay a graph in which a horizontal axis indicates date and time ofimport of the second toolbar, a vertical axis indicates a number oftypes of the second toolbar and the first data is arranged and displayeddepending on date and time of registration and a number of editingtimes.

In the above first illustrative embodiment, the terminal apparatus 10having received the toolbar data is configured to transmit the generatedfirst data and second data and the correlated data to the terminalapparatus 10, which is a transmission source of the toolbar data.However, for example, when there occurs a failure in communication withthe transmission source of the toolbar data, the data is not transmittedto the transmission source of the toolbar data.

In this case, the terminal apparatus 10 may be configured to refer tothe IP address of the terminal apparatus 10 added to the toolbar data,thereby transmitting the first data and second data and the correlateddata to the other terminal apparatus 10 having transmitted the toolbardata.

For example, when it is not possible to transmit the set of thegenerated first data DD1 and second data DD21 to the terminal apparatus10B, the terminal apparatus 10D transmits the set of the generated firstdata DD1 and second data DD21 to the terminal apparatus 10A.

Also, for example, when it is not possible to transmit the set of thegenerated first data ED1 and second data ED21 to the terminal apparatus10D, the terminal apparatus 10E may transmit the set of the generatedfirst data ED1 and second data ED21 to the terminal apparatus 10B, andwhen it is not possible to transmit the same to the terminal apparatus10B, too, the terminal apparatus 10E may transmit the same to theterminal apparatus 10A.

In the above first illustrative embodiment, when the toolbar data isimported at the terminal apparatus 10, the set of the first data and thesecond data and the correlated data are transmitted to the otherterminal apparatus 10. However, the present invention is not limitedthereto. For example, when the second toolbar B2 is edited, the seconddata may be generated and the set of the first data and second data maybe transmitted to the terminal apparatus 10, which is a transmissionsource of the toolbar.

In the above first illustrative embodiment, when the second toolbar B2has a plurality of tab bars, the export or import may be performed withthe arrangement order of the respective tab bars being included and avariety of data or information for obtaining the hysteresis of theprocessing relating to the second toolbar B2 may be transmitted andreceived.

The program of each apparatus may be provided with being recorded in acomputer-readable recording medium such as a magnetic recording medium(magnetic tape, magnetic disk (HDD (Hard Disk Drive), FD (Flexible Disk)and the like), an optical recording medium (optical disk and the like),an optical magnetic recording medium, a semiconductor memory and thelike and then installed. Also, the program may be downloaded andinstalled through a communication line.

Second Illustrative Embodiment

FIG. 20 shows apparatuses relating to a communication system 1′according to a second illustrative embodiment of the present invention.A communication line 2′ is a LAN (Local Area Network) through which datacommunication is performed, and a plurality of computer apparatusesconfigured to perform data communication is connected thereto. Thecommunication line 2′ is not limited to the LAN, and may include acommunication line through which the computer apparatus performscommunication, such as WAN (Wide Area Network). Internet and telephoneline. Terminal apparatuses 10A′ to 10E′ are apparatuses configured toperform data communication, and are so-called PCs in this secondillustrative embodiment. The terminal apparatuses 10A′ to 10E′ areconnected to the communication line 2′ and are configured to performdata communication through the communication line 2′. In this secondillustrative embodiment, since the terminal apparatuses 10A′ to 10E′have the same hardware configuration, they are simply referred to as‘terminal apparatus 10′’ when it is not necessary to distinguish thesame.

A server apparatus 20′ is a computer apparatus configured to performcommunication with the terminal apparatus 10′. The server apparatus 20′is an example of an analysis apparatus configured to acquire datatransmitted from the terminal apparatuses 10A′ to 10E′ and to analyzethe acquired data.

(Configuration of Terminal Apparatus 10′)

FIG. 21 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the terminalapparatus 10′. A display unit 103′ has a display device and isconfigured to display a variety of screens for operating the terminalapparatus 10′. An operation unit 104′ has an input device for operatingthe terminal apparatus 10′, such as a keyboard and a mouse. Acommunication unit 105′ functions as a communication interface forperforming data communication.

A storage unit 102′ has a device (for example, a hard disk drive) forpermanently storing therein data, and is configured to store therein aprogram of an operating system, an application program, a document fileindicating a document, and the like. In this second illustrativeembodiment, the storage unit 102′ is configured to store therein anapplication program (hereinafter, referred to as document managementapplication) for implementing functions of displaying, editing andmanaging a document file, and the like.

A control unit 101′ has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a RAM(Random Access Memory) and is configured to execute the program of theoperating system and the application program. When the CPU executes thedocument management application, the functions of displaying, editingand managing a document file, a function of recording an operationhysteresis indicating a hysteresis of operations of the documentmanagement application, and the like are implemented.

FIG. 22 illustrates an example of a GUI (Graphical User Interface) thatis displayed on the display unit 103′ as the document managementapplication is executed. The GUI has, in a window W, a menu bar B3, afirst toolbar B1 on which button icons (an example of an image)corresponding to predetermined functions are arranged, a second toolbarB2 on which an editing of adding, deleting and arranging a button iconcorresponding to a function can be performed by a user's operation, afirst display area A1 configured to display a folder tree and a seconddisplay area A2 configured to display a document. The second toolbar B2is an example of a display area of an image corresponding to a function.In this second illustrative embodiment, an icon is displayed on thesecond toolbar B2, as an image corresponding to a function. However, asthe image corresponding to a function, an object, a character or acombination of an object, a character and an icon may also be used.

When a user selects a folder in the first display area A1, files in thefolder are displayed in an icon form in the second display area A2, asshown in FIG. 22. When the user performs an operation of selecting anicon displayed in the second display area A2 to open a file, a contentof the file is displayed as shown in FIG. 23.

The second toolbar B2 is an example of a distinguishing toolbar of thepresent invention. When the user operates the operation unit 104′, thecontrol unit 101′ adds, deletes or rearranges a button on the secondtoolbar B2, in response to the operation on the operation unit 104′.When the user performs an operation of pressing a button displayed onthe second toolbar B2 on the operation unit 104′, the control unit 101′executes a function corresponding to the button.

For example, when performing a series of operations of converting animage file of a document read by a scanner into a PDF (Portable DocumentFormat), performing character recognition for the PDF file to generatetext data, rearranging pages of the document, editing the text data ofthe document and saving the edited document file, if a button BU1‘conversion to PDF’ corresponding to a function of converting an imagefile to a PDF, a button BU2 ‘character recognition’ corresponding to afunction of character recognition, a button BU3 ‘page rearrangement’corresponding to a function of rearranging a page, a button BU4‘editing’ corresponding to a function of editing text data and a buttonBU5 ‘save’ corresponding to a function of saving a file are arrangedfrom left in conformity of the operation sequence, as shown in FIG. 22,it is possible to execute the series of operations in order.

Also, the second toolbar B2 is configured to be exported and imported,in response to a user's operation. When the user performs an operationof exporting the second toolbar B2 on the operation unit 104′, thecontrol unit 101′ outputs toolbar data indicating the second toolbar B2.Also, when the user performs an operation of importing toolbar data onthe operation unit 104′, the control unit 101′ arranges a variety ofbuttons in an area of the second toolbar B2, in response to a content ofthe toolbar data.

By transmitting the output toolbar data to the other terminal apparatus10′ and importing the same at the other apparatus 10′, the same secondtoolbar B2 as the terminal apparatus 10′ having transmitted the toolbardata is displayed on the other terminal apparatus 10′, too. For example,when a user (hereinafter, referred to as user A) of the terminalapparatus 10A′ asks a user (hereinafter, referred to as user B) of theterminal apparatus 10B′ to work as the content of the second toolbar B2shown in FIG. 33, the user A exports the second toolbar B2 and transmitsthe toolbar data to the terminal apparatus 10B′. When the user B importsthe transmitted toolbar data at the terminal apparatus 10B′, the user Bcan perform a series of operations in order with the second toolbar B2set by the user A. In the meantime, since the toolbar data can betransmitted to the terminal apparatus 10′ of another user, the toolbardata transmitted from the terminal apparatus 10A′can be transmitted fromthe terminal apparatus 10B′ to the terminal apparatus 10C′ or terminalapparatus 10D′ and can be further transmitted from the terminalapparatus 10D′ to the terminal apparatus 10E′, for example.

Since the respective buttons are arranged in order of operations on thesecond toolbar B2 imported to the terminal apparatus 10′, the respectivebuttons are preferably operated in order of the arranged buttons.However, some users of the terminal apparatus 10′ may not operate thebuttons in order of the arranged buttons on the imported second toolbarB2.

Therefore, the terminal apparatus 10′ of this second illustrativeembodiment has a function of perceiving whether the second toolbar B2 isoperated in order of the arranged buttons. Specifically, the documentmanagement application has a function of recording an operationhysteresis of the second toolbar B2. When recording an operationhysteresis of the second toolbar B2, a preparer of the second toolbar B2arranges a START button BU5 and an END button BUE on the second toolbarB2, as exemplified in FIG. 24. When an operation of pressing the STARTbutton BU5 is performed, the control unit 101′ executing the documentmanagement application starts to record a button operation hysteresis ofthe second toolbar B2. Also, when an operation of pressing the ENDbutton BUE is performed, the control unit 101′ executing the documentmanagement application ends the recording of the button operationhysteresis. Also, the document management application has functions ofanalyzing the recorded operation hysteresis and transmitting dataobtained through the analysis of the operation hysteresis to the serverapparatus 20′ when an operation different from an order of the arrangedbuttons on the second toolbar B2 is performed.

(Functional Configuration of Terminal Apparatus 10′)

FIG. 25 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of adistinguishing function of the present invention of the functions of theterminal apparatus 10′, which are implemented as the document managementapplication is executed.

A display controller 150′ is to control the display unit 103′ and todisplay a screen of a GUI on the display unit 103′. The displaycontroller 150′ controls the display unit 103′ to display the secondtoolbar B2 in a window.

A recorder 151′ is to record a hysteresis of an operation performed forthe button of the second toolbar B2 on the operation unit 104′ in thestorage unit 102′.

A specifying unit 152′ is to analyze the operation hysteresis recordedin the storage unit 102′ and to specify an operation hysteresis of abutton for which an operation different from a predetermined operationis performed on the second toolbar B2.

A transmitter 153′ is to control the communication unit 105′ to transmitthe operation hysteresis (an example of the information indicating thata user's operation is different from a predetermined operation)specified by the specifying unit 152′ to the server apparatus 20′.

(Configuration of Server Apparatus 20′)

FIG. 26 shows an example of a hardware configuration of the serverapparatus 20′. A communication unit 205′ functions as a communicationinterface for performing data communication and is connected to thecommunication line 2′. The server apparatus 20′ is configured to controlthe communication unit 205′ to perform communication with the terminalapparatus 10′. A display unit 203′ has a display device. The displayunit 203′ is configured to display a variety of screens for operatingthe server apparatus 20′, data transmitted from the terminal apparatus10′, and the like. An operation unit 204′ has an input device foroperating the server apparatus 20′, such as a keyboard and a mouse.

A storage unit 202′ has a device (for example, a hard disk drive) forpermanently storing therein data, and is configured to record thereindata transmitted from the terminal apparatus 10′. Also, the storage unit202′ is configured to store therein a program for implementing functionsof performing communication with the terminal apparatus 10′, recordingdata transmitted from the terminal apparatus 10′, analyzing datatransmitted from the terminal apparatus 10′, transmitting an analysisresult to the terminal apparatus 10′, and the like. A control unit 201′has a CPU and a RAM and is configured to control the storage unit 202′and the communication unit 205′. When the CPU executes the programstored in the storage unit 202′, the above functions are implemented.

(Functional Configuration of Server Apparatus 20′)

FIG. 27 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of adistinguishing function of the present invention of the functions thatare implemented in the server apparatus 20′.

A receiver 250′ is to control the communication unit 205′ to receive theoperation hysteresis transmitted by the terminal apparatus 10′. Theoperation hysteresis received by the receiver 250′ is recorded in thestorage unit 202′.

An analyzer 251′ is to analyze a user's operation performed for thesecond toolbar B2, based on the operation hysteresis received by thereceiver 250′ and recorded in the storage unit 202′.

An output unit 252′ is to control the communication unit 205′ to outputan analysis result of the analyzer 251′ to the terminal apparatus 10′.

(Example of Operation of Second Illustrative Embodiment)

Subsequently, an example of an operation of this second illustrativeembodiment is described. In the example of the operation, a case isexemplified in which the second toolbar B2 of FIG. 24 prepared at theterminal apparatus 10A′ by the user A is imported to the terminalapparatuses 10A′ to 10E′ and the imported second toolbar B2 is operatedat the terminal apparatuses 10A′ to 10E′. In below descriptions, when itis necessary to distinguish the hardware configurations and functionalconfigurations of the respective terminal apparatuses 10′, therespective units of the terminal apparatus 10A′ are denoted with thecorresponding reference numerals having ‘A′’ attached to an end thereof,the respective units of the terminal apparatus 10B′ are denoted with thecorresponding reference numerals having ‘B′’ attached to an end thereof,the respective units of the terminal apparatus 10C′ are denoted with thecorresponding reference numerals having ‘C′’ attached to an end thereof,the respective units of the terminal apparatus 10D′ are denoted with thecorresponding reference numerals having ‘D′’ attached to an end thereofand the respective units of the terminal apparatus 10E′ are denoted withthe corresponding reference numerals having ‘E′’ attached to an endthereof, for convenience of explanations.

When the user A asks the users of the terminal apparatuses 10A′ to 10E′to perform a series of operations of conversion of an image file into aPDF, character recognition, page rearrangement, editing of text data,save of a document file, and the like, the user A operates the operationunit 104A′ to arrange the buttons BU1 to BU5 in corresponding order fromleft on the second toolbar B2. Also, when the user A wants to perceivewhether the second toolbar B2 is operated in order of the arrangedbuttons, the user A arranges the START button BU5 and the END button BUEon the second toolbar B2, as exemplified in FIG. 24.

When the user A performs an operation of exporting the second toolbar B2of FIG. 24 on the operation unit 104A′ at the terminal apparatus 10A′ inwhich the document management application is being executed, the controlunit 101A′ outputs toolbar data, in response to the performed operation(FIG. 28: step P1). When exporting the newly prepared second toolbar B2,the control unit 101A′ adds a toolbar identifier for identifying thesecond toolbar B2 to the toolbar data to be output here.

When the user A performs an operation of transmitting the output toolbardata to the terminal apparatus 10B′, the control unit 101A′ controls thecommunication unit 105A′ to transmit the toolbar data to the terminalapparatus 10B′ (step P2). Also, when the user A performs the operationof transmitting the output toolbar data to the terminal apparatuses 10C′to 10E′, the control unit 101A′ controls the communication unit 105A′ totransmit the toolbar data to the terminal apparatuses 10C′ to 10E′(steps P3 to P5).

The communication unit 105B′ of the terminal apparatus 10B′ receives thetoolbar data transmitted from the terminal apparatus 10A′. When the userB performs an operation of importing the toolbar data on the operationunit 104B at the terminal apparatus 10B′ in which the documentmanagement application is being executed, the control unit 101B′executes processing of importing the toolbar data (step P6). When thecontrol unit 101B′ executes processing of importing the toolbar data, awindow having the second toolbar B2 of FIG. 24 is displayed on thedisplay unit 103B′. Also, when the users perform an operation ofimporting the toolbar data at the terminal apparatuses 10C′ to 10E′,like the user B, the processing of importing the toolbar data isexecuted (steps P6 to P9) and a window having the second toolbar B2 ofFIG. 24 is displayed on the display unit 103′.

At the terminal apparatuses 10B′ to 10E′ on which the second toolbar B2is displayed, the user operates the second toolbar B2 to edit a documentfile (steps P10 to P13). Specifically, the user first performs anoperation of pressing the START button BU5 of the second toolbar B2.When the START button BU5 is pressed, the control unit 101′ starts torecord an operation hysteresis of the buttons of the second toolbar B2.

Then, when the user performs an operation of pressing a button betweenthe START button BU5 and the END button BUE on the operation unit 104′so as to process the document file, the control unit 101′ associates abutton name of the pressed button and a number, which indicates whatnumber the button is pressed after the START button BU5 is pressed, andrecords the same in the storage unit 102′, as the operation hysteresis.

For example, when the user B first operates the second toolbar B2, ifthe user B operates the buttons in order of the button BU1, the buttonBU3, the button BU2, the button BU4 and the button BU5, a button name‘PDF preparation’ is associated with ‘1’, a button name ‘pagerearrangement’ is associated with ‘2’, a button name ‘characterrecognition’ is associated with ‘3’, a button name ‘editing’ isassociated with ‘4’, and a button name ‘save’ is associated with ‘5’, asshown at a first line of a record of FIG. 29, for example. That is, theoperated orders of the respective buttons are stored with beingassociated with the button names. Also, when the user B operates thesecond toolbar B2 secondarily, if the user B operates the buttons inorder of the button BU1, the button BU2, the button BU4, the button BU3and the button BU5, the operation hysteresis is recorded, as shown at asecond line of the record of FIG. 29. When the user B operates thesecond toolbar B2 thirdly, if the user B operates the buttons in orderof the button BU1, the button BU3, the button BU2, the button BU4 andthe button BU5, the operation hysteresis is recorded, as shown at athird line of the record of FIG. 29.

The user of the terminal apparatuses 10B′ to 10E′ operates the buttonsBU1 to BU5 to perform an operation relating to the second toolbar B2.When the operation relating to the second toolbar B2 is over, the userperforms an operation of pressing the END button BUE of the secondtoolbar B2. When the operation of pressing the END button BUE isperformed, the control unit 101′ of the terminal apparatuses 10B′ to10E′ ends the recording of the operation hysteresis of the buttons ofthe second toolbar B2.

When the operation of pressing the END button BUE is performed, thecontrol unit 101′ of the terminal apparatuses 10B′ to 10E′ analyzes therecorded recording hysteresis and specifies an operation hysteresis,which is made when the operation has not been performed in order of thearranged buttons on the second toolbar B2 (steps P14 to P17).Specifically, the control unit 101′ first acquires, as data included inthe toolbar data, data (hereinafter, referred to as operation sequencedata) in which names of the buttons and arranging orders of the buttonsare associated with each other with respect to the buttons between theSTART button BU5 and the END button BUE, as exemplified in FIG. 30. Thecontrol unit 101′ compares the operation hysteresis and the operationsequence data and specifies an operation hysteresis, which is made whenthe operation has not been performed in order of the operation sequencedata.

For example, comparing the first line of the record shown in FIG. 29 andthe operation sequence data of FIG. 30, the operated orders of thebutton BU2 ‘character recognition’ and the button BU3 ‘pagerearrangement’ are different from each other. Therefore, the controlunit 101′ specifies the first line of the record shown in FIG. 29, asthe operation hysteresis made when the operation has not been performedin order of the arranged buttons on the second toolbar B2.

When the operation of specifying the operation hysteresis, which is madewhen the operation has not been performed in order of the operationsequence data, is over, the control unit 101′ transmits data of thespecified operation hysteresis, a user name of the user of the terminalapparatus 10′, and the toolbar identifier added to the toolbar data ofthe second toolbar B2 to the server apparatus 20′ (steps P18 to P21). Inthe meantime, as the user name to be transmitted, a user name that isinput when the user logs in the terminal apparatus 10′ is used.

When the operation hysteresis, the user name and the toolbar identifiertransmitted from the terminal apparatuses 10B′ to 10E′ are received, thecontrol unit 201′ of the server apparatus 20′ associates the receiveddata and records the same in the storage unit 202′ (step P22).

When the user A having prepared the second toolbar B2 wants to obtain ananalysis result of the operation performed for the distributed secondtoolbar B2, the user A performs an operation of logging in the serverapparatus 20′ on the operation unit 104A′ (step P23).

When the user A logs in the server apparatus 20′, the user A performsoperations of inputting the toolbar identifier of the prepared secondtoolbar B2 and acquiring an analysis result of the operation performedfor the second toolbar B2 on the operation unit 104A′. When theoperations of inputting the toolbar identifier and acquiring an analysisresult are performed, the control unit 101A′ controls the communicationunit 105A′ to transmit a message requesting an analysis result,including the input toolbar identifier, to the server apparatus 20′(step P24).

When the communication unit 205′ receives the message requesting ananalysis result, the control unit 201′ acquires the toolbar identifierincluded in the received message and analyzes the operation hysteresisrecorded with being associated with the acquired toolbar identifier(step P25). Specifically, the control unit 201′ acquires, from thestorage unit 202′, data (hereinafter, referred to as operation sequencedata) in which names of the buttons and arranging orders of the buttonsare associated with each other with respect to the buttons between theSTART button BU5 and the END button BUE, as exemplified in FIG. 30. Thecontrol unit 201′ compares the operation hysteresis associated with theacquired toolbar identifier and the operation sequence data andspecifies a number of operation times, which have not been performed inorder of the operation sequence data, for each button of the secondtoolbar B2.

For example, the operation sequence data of FIG. 30 indicates that thebutton BU2 ‘character recognition’ is operated secondarily. On the otherhand, the operation hysteresis (FIG. 29) of the user B transmitted tothe server apparatus 20′ indicates that the number of times that thebutton BU2 ‘character recognition’ has been operated thirdly other thansecondarily is two times. In this case, the control unit 201′ specifies‘2’ as a number of operation times, which have not been performed inorder by the user B, for the button BU2 ‘character recognition’, andassociates and records the button name and the specified number oftimes, as shown in FIG. 31.

Also, the operation sequence data of FIG. 30 indicates that the buttonBU3 ‘page rearrangement’ is operated thirdly. On the other hand, theoperation hysteresis (FIG. 29) of the user B transmitted to the serverapparatus 20 indicates that the number of times that the button BU3‘page rearrangement’ has been operated secondarily other than thirdly istwo times and the number of times that the button BU3 has been operatedfourthly is one time. In this case, the control unit 201′ specifies ‘3’as a number of operation times, which have not been performed in orderby the user B, for the button BU3 ‘page rearrangement’, and associatesand records the button name and the specified number of times, as shownin FIG. 31.

Also, the operation sequence data of FIG. 30 indicates that the buttonBU4 ‘editing’ is operated fourthly. On the other hand, the operationhysteresis (FIG. 29) of the user B transmitted to the server apparatus20′ indicates that the number of times that the button BU4 ‘editing’ hasbeen operated thirdly other than fourthly is one time. In this case, thecontrol unit 201′ specifies ‘1’ as a number of operation times, whichhave not been performed in order by the user B, for the button BU4‘editing’, and associates and records the button name and the specifiednumber of times, as shown in FIG. 31.

The control unit 201′ specifies a number of operation times, which havenot been performed in order of the operation sequence data, for eachbutton of the second toolbar B2 with respect to each user of theterminal apparatuses 10B′ to 10E′, and associates the button name, thespecified number of times, the user name and the toolbar identifier andrecords the same in the storage unit 202′. FIG. 32 shows an example ofthe recorded data.

Then, the control unit 201′ performs a cluster analysis for the recordeddata of FIG. 32 by using a nearest neighbor method, for example, andrecords an analysis result in the storage unit 202′. When the analysisresult is recorded in the storage unit 202′, the control unit 201′controls the communication unit 205′ to transmit the recorded analysisresult to the terminal apparatus 10A′ (step P26).

When the communication unit 105A′ receives the analysis resulttransmitted from the server apparatus 20′, the control unit 101A′controls the display unit 103A′ to display the received analysis result.In the meantime, the analysis result displayed on the display unit 103A′may be displayed in a form of a map tree or dendrogram, for example.

Modified Embodiments

Although the second illustrative embodiment of the present invention hasbeen described, the present invention is not limited to the aboveillustrative embodiment and can be implemented in diverse forms. Forexample, the present invention may be implemented by modifying the aboveillustrative embodiment as follows. In the meantime, the secondillustrative embodiment and the following modified embodiments may berespectively combined.

In the above second illustrative embodiment, the analysis result of thecluster analysis is transmitted from the server apparatus 20′ to theterminal apparatus 10A′. However, the data (FIG. 31), which indicatesthe number of operation times not performed in order specified for eachbutton, not the analysis result of the cluster analysis, may betransmitted from the server apparatus 20′ to the terminal apparatus10A′.

Also, in the above second illustrative embodiment, the server apparatus20′ is configured to transmit the analysis result of the clusteranalysis to the terminal apparatus 10A′, in response to the request fromthe terminal apparatus 10A′. However, the server apparatus 20′ may beconfigured to transmit the analysis result to the terminal apparatus10A′ at predetermined timing (for example, a specific day of week or aspecific day).

In the above second illustrative embodiment, the data of the operationhysteresis is transmitted from the terminal apparatuses 10B′ to 10E′ tothe server apparatus 20′. However, the data of the operation hysteresismay be transmitted to the terminal apparatus 10A′ having prepared thetoolbar data, and a table shown in FIG. 32 may be provided for theterminal apparatus 10A′ having prepared the toolbar data. Also, in aconfiguration where the terminal apparatus 10A′ having prepared thetoolbar data has the table exemplified in FIG. 32, the control unit101A′ may be configured to perform a variety of analyses for data storedin the table, thereby displaying an analysis result on the display unit103A′.

In the above second illustrative embodiment, the range of the secondtoolbar B2 for which the operation hysteresis is recorded is from thebutton BU1 to the button BU5. However, as shown in FIG. 33, a positionof the START button BU5 may be changed and the operation hysteresis maybe recorded for the buttons BU2 to BU5. Also, a position of the ENDbutton BUE, not the position of the START button BU5, may be changed tochange the range for which the operation hysteresis is recorded.Alternatively, both the START button BU5 and the END button BUE may bechanged to change the range for which the operation hysteresis isrecorded.

In the above second illustrative embodiment, the range of the secondtoolbar B2 for which the operation hysteresis is recorded is one.However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, asshown in FIG. 34, the START button BU5 and the END button BUE may bearranged with buttons BU11 to BU13 being interposed therebetween, theSTART button BU5 and the END button BUE may be arranged with buttonsBU15 to BU17 being interposed therebetween, and the operation hysteresisfor the buttons BU11 to BU13 and the operation hysteresis for thebuttons BU15 to BU17 may be individually recorded.

In the above second illustrative embodiment, a tree map or dendrogram isdisplayed as an example of the analysis result of the operationhysteresis. However, the analysis result to be displayed is not limitedto the tree map or dendrogram. For example, based on numerical values ofthe data stored in the table shown in FIG. 32, the number of operationtimes not performed in order of the arrangement may be displayed with ahistogram for each button. Also, when displaying a histogram, the numberof operation times not performed in order of the arrangement may beindicated by a height of a bar for each user, as shown in FIG. 35. Also,as shown in FIG. 35, when performing the display for each user, the barsare preferably displayed with being distinguished for each user.Thereby, it is possible to visibly know which user has not performed theoperation in order of the arrangement.

In the above second illustrative embodiment, the document managementapplication is configured to have one second toolbar B2 in the window.However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, asshown in FIG. 36, a plurality of tabs T1 to T3 may be provided in thewindow and the second toolbar B2 may be provided for each tab.

Also, as shown in FIG. 36, in a configuration where the documentmanagement application has the second toolbar B2 for each tab, theoperation hysteresis may be recorded and analyzed for the second toolbarB2 of each tab. Also, in a configuration where the operation hysteresisis recorded and analyzed for the second toolbar B2 of each tab, thenumber of times, which indicates that the button has not been operatedin order of the arrangement, may be indicated with an area for each tab,as shown in FIG. 37. Also, as shown in FIG. 37, when displaying thenumber of times, which indicates that the button has not been operatedin order of the arrangement, with an area, the number of times ispreferably displayed with being distinguished for each button. Thereby,it is possible to visibly know which button has not been operated inorder of the arrangement.

In the above second illustrative embodiment, the button name and theoperated order are recorded with being associated, as the operationhysteresis. However, an identifier for uniquely identifying a button mayalso be used, instead of the button name.

In the above second illustrative embodiment, regarding the button on thesecond toolbar B2 operated in order different from the predeterminedorder, the number of operations times performed in different order isspecified and the analysis result based on the specified number ofoperation times is displayed. However, the present invention is notlimited thereto. For example, regarding an operation to be performed forthe second toolbar B2, an operation to be performed by the user may bepreset, a hysteresis of an operation different from the preset operationmay be recorded and an analysis result obtained by analyzing therecorded analysis may be displayed. For example, a button for a shortcut to a folder is arranged on the second toolbar B2. An operation to beperformed by a user may be preset so that when the button is operated, apredetermined file is edited, and when an operation different from theoperation is performed, a hysteresis of the operation may be recorded.

In the above second illustrative embodiment, the START button BU5 andthe END button BUE are displayed on the second toolbar B2 and the buttonfor which the operation hysteresis is recorded is explicitly indicated.However, a configuration is also possible in which the START button BU5and the END button BUE are not provided and an operation hysteresis isrecorded for a predetermined button.

The program of each apparatus of the present invention may be providedwith being recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as amagnetic recording medium (magnetic tape, magnetic disk (HDD (Hard DiskDrive), FD (Flexible Disk) and the like), an optical recording medium(optical disk and the like), an optical magnetic recording medium, asemiconductor memory and the like and then installed. Also, the programmay be downloaded and installed through a communication line.

The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention has been provided for the purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modificationsand variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical applications, therebyenabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited tothe particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of theinvention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer readable medium storinga program for enabling a computer to function as: an editor configuredto edit an arrangement of a plurality of pictograms in a display area,the plurality of pictograms corresponding to functions to be executed; agenerator configured to generate hysteresis information indicating ahysteresis of the edit; a first transmitter configured to transmitdisplay area information indicating the display area to other terminalapparatus; a receiver configured to receive hysteresis informationindicating a hysteresis of processing relating to the display areaindicated by the display area information, the processing beingperformed in the other terminal apparatus; a display unit configured tocorrelate and display the hysteresis information generated by thegenerator and the hysteresis information received by the receiver; and asecond transmitter configured to transmit the hysteresis informationgenerated by the generator and the hysteresis information received bythe receiver to a terminal apparatus which has transmitted the displayarea information to the own apparatus.
 2. The non-transitory computerreadable medium according to claim 1, wherein when it is not possible totransmit the hysteresis information to the terminal apparatus which hastransmitted the display area information to the own apparatus, thesecond transmitter transmits the hysteresis information to a terminalapparatus which has transmitted the display area information to theterminal apparatus which has transmitted the display area information tothe own apparatus.
 3. An analysis system comprising: a terminalapparatus comprising: a display controller configured to display aplurality of images corresponding to functions to be executed on adisplay unit; a recorder configured to record an operation hysteresis,which is a hysteresis of a user's operation performed for the images;and a transmitter configured to transmit information, which indicatesthat the operation hysteresis recorded by the recorder is different froma predetermined operation; and an analysis apparatus comprising: areceiver configured to receive the information transmitted by thetransmitter; and an output unit configured to output information, whichindicates that the user's operation is different from the predeterminedoperation, on the basis of the information received by the receiver. 4.The analysis system according to claim 3, wherein the images for whichthe operation hysteresis is recorded are a plurality of predeterminedimages of the plurality of images.
 5. The analysis system according toclaim 3, wherein the display controller arranges and displays theplurality of images in order in a predetermined display area andexplicitly displays the images for which the operation hysteresis isrecorded in the display area.
 6. The analysis system according to claim3, wherein the output unit outputs the information to a terminalapparatus of a predetermined user.
 7. A terminal apparatus comprising: adisplay controller configured to display a plurality of imagescorresponding to functions to be executed on a display unit; a recorderconfigured to record an operation hysteresis, which is a hysteresis of auser's operation performed for the images; and a transmitter configuredto transmit information, which indicates that the operation hysteresisrecorded by the recorder is different from a predetermined operation. 8.A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program for enablinga computer to function as: a display controller configured to display aplurality of images corresponding to functions to be executed on adisplay unit; a recorder configured to record an operation hysteresis,which is a hysteresis of a user's operation performed for the images;and a transmitter configured to transmit information, which indicatesthat an operation hysteresis recorded by the recorder is different froma predetermined operation.